When we wake up in the morning, we try to recall whether the fragments in the haze really happened. If it is a dream, it will be a pity, if it is a nightmare, it will be a blessing. The dream world can recur and find the same shadow in reality. It may be a fragment of memory, or a conversation between our deep soul and the body. The exit of the soul, the link of the collective subconscious, the dream of the other side shining in her pen, she is Aimee Gao.
Aimee Gao's new generation of artists, her paintings are retro and gorgeous like a complex expression of the mystery, seemingly recording people's dreams, but in fact expressing the phenomenology of the world. It's closely related to her specialty of interaction design. During her study in London, she visited the streets to record the voices of towns and residents, and she fanatically told the protagonists of paintings and animations to the little people in life to tell unforgettable feelings and stories. Her art is no longer aesthetic elevation in the narrow sense, but uses the flat world to tell the story of the times. She is eager to present collective self-reflection to a wider audience.
The dream itself is a projection of the subconscious. Freud once said, "When our conscious minds are asleep, the unconscious mind produces images that give us a special understanding of the deepest self." "It is well known that psychological dreams reflect what the mind thinks, and dreams help people to digest the elements that the real world is exposed to, either distorted or reversed. Historically and today, psychologists try to awaken the trauma or shadow of people's deep dimensions through "hypnosis" to help psychologists and interviewees better understand the starting point of their own problems when understanding the psychological doubts faced by people. The same dreams of the collective crowd connect the collective subconscious to lead to a magical community. Her use of multiplayer dreams to tell the story (presented in her 2019 independent hand-drawn animated short film Dream and Reality) is undoubtedly a precedent for linking the arts to theology and science. It was also the beginning of her in-depth study of the "Dreams" series.
(Dream and Reality Dream & Reality Animated Short)
Jung's theories during the study also further touched her "dreams may contain irresistible truths." As a result, Aimee Gao's exploration of the truth of "dreams" has become more and more fanatical, and she is not satisfied with the collective subconscious of animation records, but also tries to use "dreams" to achieve self-healing and self-reconciliation. So she restarted the early Monster Girl Dream series, as well as remastered the Girl Girl Dream series. She explores self-examination and sublimation from a female perspective.
(That's what you should to be a Girl's Dream series of Collective Unconsciousness)
Aimee Gao's art stems from dreams and reflections on reality, she conjures up artificial landscapes into 'monsters' in 'dreams', life into 'journeys', and sensations into empty 'circles & pits'. In her art world, it is full of fantasy and reflection, the girl in the school uniform, the bright monster, the cycle of death and rebirth... These elements collide with each other, giving her work some deeper and more complex implications. The fusion of monsters and maidens has impacted people's deep thoughts and radiated a different charm.
(Dreams of Blossom Girl's Dream series: Momentary)
In addition to recording dreams, Aimee Gao also uses sequins, gemstones, and gold leaf to embellish the eyes of the girl's dream, the light spots at the entrance of the light, the morning dew of the petals, and the teardrops of "Momentary". The gray sky glows because of them, and the grown self becomes more shining.
(Monster Maiden Dream Monster Girl Dream Series)
In Aime Gao's pen, the monsters that are in the same dream as the girl are also colorful and dreamy: "I would like to say that the monsters that represent the accident are not dark and terrifying, and I decorate them with bright colors because I think that sudden accidents do not mean suffering, they sharpen themselves, so that the current self has the courage and strength to face the predicament." I hope that my works can become the strength of contemporary women, so that they can have the courage to face the world, and can examine themselves more confidently, after all, each of us must find an outlet in the dream and use the energy obtained from the dream to live better in reality. ”
(Dreams of Blossom Girl's Dream series)
Recently, Aimee Gao held her first solo exhibition at the 798 Tu Meng Gallery in Beijing, about the theme of the exhibition, she said: "The other side - distant, this lies in time, space, psychology; and Dream - dream is also a dream, the subconscious mind reflects the self-reflection of different dimensions." It's not empty, just like this exhibition. I will transform the illusory into perceptible, depicting longing from obscurity. I long to grasp the fleeting dreams that need to be remembered hard, to grasp the dreams with myself, girls, and more everyone, to make connections and communicate meaning, this is my dream. "We believe that through the experience of this solo exhibition, her artistic creation can go further and more lasting."
Exhibition Information:
Exhibition Title: Dream Reality
Exhibition time: December 24, 2021 - February 28, 2022
Venue: Tu Meng Gallery, 798 Art Center, Chaoyang District, Beijing
About Aimee Gao
Goldsmiths University of London Goldsmiths College, University of London
Awards:
2021 Lift-Off Online Sessions / 英国UK
2021 Knowmad / Europe Europe
2021 GUTTERCAST / USA USA
2021 EATSA ARTLAB / Portugal Portugal
Participation in the group exhibition:
2021 Everywhere You Go / London, UK London
2021 GMT/CET / France Paris Paris